Proposal: Regional Command Base

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In my Project World, the Project has the United States and Canada split into ten operational regions each with a Regional Command Base. These bases are buried with their crews frozen until Prime Base sends out is recall codes. The following is a brief description of one such base.

Base Zulu Foxtrot is the regional command base for Project Operation Region VI covering the states of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and the portions of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River. It is located underneath a small hill in the eastern portion of Oklahoma. The hill itself is covered with a typical mix of softwood trees, thickets, prairie grass and the occasional outcrop of boulders.

Encompassing the hill is the three-thousand acres of a working cattle and horse ranch. At the foot of the hill are the ranch buildings; a house for the owner, another for the foreman and off to one side a dozen smaller bungalows for the ranch hands. Across from the living area is a barn and corral for the horses, a blacksmith shop, three storage barns for hay and feed, a barn sheltering farm vehicles and five smaller buildings for storage. Near the livestock barn there is a small water tower, complete with a working windmill and a deep well. On the other side of the livestock barn is an above ground gasoline tank. Along the access road there is a powerline.

First impressions are that of a typical ranch, but the careful observer will spots signs of high-technology, each of the homes have solar panels installed on the roof. Instead of the typical wood/brick construction, all of the homes appear to be constructed of drift blocks, with thick windows equipped with steel shutters. It takes a moment, but the observer can see that each house has been carefully placed to cover the blind spots of its neighbors.

In the pasture running alongside the access road is a hard-packed runway with a small hanger holding a crop duster and a Cessna 150 aircraft. On the ranch side of the hanger is an above ground gasoline tank.

Careful examination of the hill shows the remains of old brick buildings, local lore has that these are the ruins of the original ranch buildings, destroyed by a tornado back in the 1890s.

Zulu Foxtrot has been excavated into the hill, there is a vehicle entrance located in one of the hay/feed barns, its entrance lifts up to reveal a ramp that slops down some fifty meters and then reaches to level four of the base. There are also three personal entrances, one located in the foreman’s house, one concealed behind a small pile of boulders some one hundred meters to the north and the third is located in a grove of trees fifty meters to the east. There are also four emergency exits, located around the circumference of the hill.

The base itself consists of five levels, two utility modules and three communications modules.

The Water and Sanitation module is connected by a small tunnel some seventy-five meters northwest of the hill. At the end of the tunnel, it splits into two sections, the left section is the pump room and consists of a deep-bore well, three water pumps, filtration units and a two storage tanks (one for purified water and the second for newly pumped water). The Sanitation section splits off to the right and is located some fifty meters to the northeast. This room consists of a septic tank, pumps to move the raw sewage as well as filters, separators and holding tanks, as well as pumps to move the treated material back to level five.

The Power Module is located on the eastern side of the hill, one hundred meters out and sixty meters deep. At its far end are two chambers, each holding a fusion reactor (one is a spare). Half-way down the tunnel is a bay positioned on one side, holding reserve fuel cartridges for the reactors. Where the tunnel joins level five are two bays positioned on either side, holding the emergency batteries.

Level Five is the lowest level and is devoted to bulk supplies. There are tunnel entrances to the two utility modules and scattered around the outer edge of the level are six hydroponic gardens/fish tanks (each 24 x 30 meters), providing fresh vegetables and fish for the base.

In the center of level five is a bulk load elevator, four personnel elevators and a staircase that connects all of the levels.

Level Four is the next lowest level and contains a vehicle garage for the base and the vehicle entrance tunnel. The remainder of level four consists of storage areas for raw materials, finished materials and workshops. These workshops are capable of fabricating almost all of the Project’s needs, but only in small job lots (need 15,000 rounds of 5.56mm, have it for you within seven days; need 1,000,000 rounds of .50 caliber, that might take a few months). Placed on the outer perimeter are four large bays (50 x 75 meters) that store bulk raw materials/finished product.

Level Three is the middle level and consists of living quarters, the base hospital, a recreation area, and a small gym.

Level Two contains additional living quarters, training facilities, four flight simulators and several small conference rooms.

Level One contains the command section.

The three communications modules are located some distance from the base, with the furthest being some two kilometers away. The closest module is 500 meters out and is connected by a fiber-optic cable. The remaining two modules use radio to connect with the base.

In sizes, levels four and five are identical 200-meter diameter areas. Levels two and three are 150-meter diameter areas. Level One is a 75-meter area. The bulk elevator runs between levels three, four and five, the personal elevators and staircase run the full height.